CCS is a technology that separates and captures CO₂ in flue gases from facilities such as industrial plants for storage deep underground. While renewable energy sources like solar power and clean energy which emit no CO₂ during combustion, such as hydrogen and ammonia, are being developed to realize a decarbonized society, it is not feasible to immediately transition from traditional fossil fuels to these new energy sources. CCS serves as an effective measure for achieving carbon neutrality during the transitional period.
Research into CCS technology commenced decades ago but has only recently garnered significant public attention. Interest in Japan surged around 2020, when the government announced its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

The process begins with separating and capturing CO₂, followed by compression and dehydration and ultimately injecting and storing it in underground reservoirs. If the distance to the storage site is short, CO₂ can be transported in its gaseous phase through pipelines. For long-distance transport, the CO₂ is liquefied to reduce its volume and shipped via vessels. In the case of transport by ship, temporary storage tanks for the liquefied CO₂ are required.
Our extensive experience with liquefied natural gas (LNG) allows us to contribute significantly to the CO₂ liquefaction segment of the value chain. Although LNG is utilized as a fuel and CO₂ is stored underground, both processes share a common flow: liquefying gas for storage and transportation by ship. This parallel enables us to leverage our expertise from LNG and petrochemical industries in the CCS field.

Providing the best solutions tailored to the environment

– What unique solutions does Chiyoda offer as an engineering company in the CCS business?

The Hub & Cluster framework, where flue gases captured from multiple emitters are collectively processed and transported, is considered effective in reducing costs across the entire value chain. The framework requires the ‘scaling up’ of facilities for CO₂ separation and capture, liquefaction and storage. Our extensive experience in engineering, procurement and construction of large-scale plants, such as those in the oil, petrochemical and LNG sectors, enables us to offer tailored and effective proposals to meet these demands.
While it is generally expected that large-scale facilities require similar sized equipment and substantial volumes of materials, it is not always the most cost-efficient solution to prepare a single piece of equipment capable of handling the maximum expected capacity. When factoring in operating costs, dividing the workload across multiple pieces of equipment can often result in higher production efficiency.

Let’s consider CO₂ capture equipment as an example. The volume of CO₂ emissions from each business varies depending on the operating conditions of the emission source or fluctuations in power generation. A consistent amount of CO₂ processing is not always required. Operating large-scale equipment during periods of low processing demand can be inefficient. Using a bus transportation analogy, there may be occasions when only 5 to 10 passengers require transport, even if a bus has a maximum capacity of 50 passengers. In such cases, owning five 10-passenger buses and operating only the required number would be less wasteful than operating a single 50-passenger bus on each occasion. Conversely however, purchasing one 50-passenger bus might be cheaper than buying five 10-passenger buses. The parking space required could also pose a challenge, as there may not be enough room to accommodate five smaller buses.

When it comes to plant design, determining the best solution requires a comprehensive approach tailored to the specific operational environment of the business. Our extensive experience of successfully delivering a wide range of domestic and international projects enables us to effectively manage all aspects, from planning to engineering, construction and operation, under diverse conditions.
Our strength lies in identifying perspectives or challenges that even the business operator may not have identified and working collaboratively to resolve them, ensuring an optimized overall solution. Our established relationships with equipment and material manufacturers and construction companies, combined with our expertise, enable us to deliver precise and practical proposals.

Safety is key for emitters and is an area where our expertise, developed through the EPC of plants across the globe, is invaluable, enabling us to conduct stringent and comprehensive risk assessments and safety analyses and incorporate the results into our designs to ensure peak safety levels.
For example, in CCS facilities, there is a potential risk that CO₂ released into the atmosphere during emergency depressurization of a plant could cool down, forming dry ice and obstructing the piping pathways. We continuously anticipate such risk and leverage our expertise to propose designs that provide operators with peace of mind and ensure safe, reliable operations.
We are also fostering partnerships with professionals across fields in the CCS value chain to strengthen our contribution. In 2024, we signed a comprehensive license agreement for CO₂ capture technology with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., a global market leader in CO₂ separation and capture technology with nearly 30 years’ experience, forming a partnership of industry leaders working together in the CCS sector. We are also collaborating with Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), exploring methods for transporting liquefied CO₂ within the CCS value chain and have partnered with Pace CCS, a UK-based leader in the CCS field with an extensive global track record. These partnerships with prominent domestic and international players enable us to drive innovation and leadership across the CCS industry.